


Flowers For A Shinobi

by Jukeboxbutton



Category: Naruto, Naruto Shippuden
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Before the Pain arc, Character Development, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Secrets, Fluff and Angst, General Angst, Graphic depiction of death, Hurt/Comfort, Kekkei Genkai | Bloodline Limit, Konohagakure | Hidden Leaf Village, Love, Mutual Pining, Original Characters - Freeform, Personal Growth, Pining, Poison, Poisoning, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Training, Trauma, Vulnerability, slooow burn, wow dey gonna love each other so hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:33:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29168883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jukeboxbutton/pseuds/Jukeboxbutton
Summary: A quiet life isn't always what we hope it to be. After fleeing her modest-sized village in hopes of finding solitude, Ayame Hana is able to discover the peace she has searched for as a villager in Konoha. Working diligently in the Yamanaka Flower Shop, she yearns for the period of her life when she was able to use her Saku Kekkei Genkai and work as a shinobi. It is only when a perplexing yet familiar illness sweeps a handful of Konoha's finest Shinobi off their feet that the young Hana clan member finds herself able to assist. Determined to get to the bottom of this illness, Kakashi Hatake seeks the assistance of the mysterious young Yamanaka Flower Shop worker to aid him in his pursuit. With her knowledge of medicinal flowers and a cryptic past, the pair works hastily to find a cure. As time creeps by them and secrets are revealed, something begins to stir in the Copy-Ninja's soul that had never been touched before.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Original Female Character(s), Hatake Kakashi/Original Character(s), Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a cross-post on my Tumblr blog (https://kashi-prompts.tumblr.com/). I have also begun including Sims 4 screenshots to help with the storytelling, which can be found on my blog. :) If you like my story, please feel free to let me know and leave some kudos! I really appreciate every bit of feedback. I will update as often as I can. Thank you all <3

Irises. 

_Bloom best in direct sun_ , she thought. _Must be planted in late summer to early fall._

Kneeling down, Ayame Hana picked the flower she had planted last fall. 

_After blooming, cut the iris stem down to its base._

The temperate Konoha sun was hot on the back of her neck. Her mind traveled away from her surroundings as she reached for another purple bud. Wistfully, she thought of the times when harvesting her flora would have only taken moments rather than months. A concentration of chakra and a field would bloom. Eyes scanning for another perfect blossom, she spotted one that had just the right shade of purple for her client's bouquet. The young Hana bent down, knees crunching under the dirt, and picked it, carefully placing it in her basket.

“Three more, maybe,” she said softly to herself, finger lightly tapping her chin as she surveyed the small field.

Behind her, leaning against the hoary oak tree sat a young shinobi. His lazy, tired eyes skimming over the pages of an orange book perched on his bent knee. A shinobi thought to be the pride of the Leaf needed a rest. He was desperate to get away for a few hours, his head aching from the stress.

When he had begun his walk out of the Konoha gates earlier that afternoon, he wasn’t sure where his sandaled feet were taking him but he only wished for some solitude. It was only a quarter mile outside of the village he had noticed a blooming field and a large overhanging tree that invited his weary mind to rest. The quiet that had surrounded him for those few precious hours was just what he needed to recharge. 

“Hm?” He muttered to himself now, hearing the sounds of footsteps crunching under the dirt behind him. He turned his head over his shoulder, jerking his neck to move his silver hair from his one unhidden eye. His thumb held his place in his book as his other hand fell cautiously to a kunai in his pocket.

One onyx colored eye fell upon the young girl walking towards him, her eyes browsing the blossoming meadow. He observed her basket, the flower twirling between her thumb and pointer finger and he suddenly felt his stomach twist in an unusual way. The silver-haired shinobi’s hand fell from its defensive stance as his eyes continued to follow her. 

_She must be a citizen_ , he thought to himself. He had never seen her in the comings and goings of his missions. The tight braids of her auburn hair radiated off the mid-afternoon sunlight as they hung over her shoulder. Something tugged at his mind to look away, feeling slightly embarrassed to be staring even though she hadn’t noticed him. 

Carefully, she bent down again, picking a rather sad looking iris and twisting it between her fingers. It was at that moment he was able to fully see her face as the sun hit it at just the right angle. A dusting of freckles soaked the skin across her nose - a constellation of specks. He swallowed hard as his mouth became dry, his Adam’s apple dunking into his throat. 

Delicately, her fingers hovering over the lifeless perennial and a soft glow came from her touch. The petals of the flower quivered. A few hopeful moments passed, but the purple blades fell to their original state. Frowning, the young woman dolefully put the flower back into her basket, sighing heavily. 

The young Hatake narrowed his eye, his thin brow knitting together. 

_She’s not a citizen,_ he concluded. _Then who is she?_

He could tell her demeanor was different from moments before. His lips began to open to speak to her, but he quickly closed them, not wanting to frighten her. Looking past her, he noticed the sun and how close it was to the horizon. 

_Oh no,_ he thought. _I need to get back to the village and meet with Lady Tsunade._

Quickly, Kakashi stood from his newly found retreat and shoved his book into his back pocket. Unable to look back in his haste, he headed towards the village. 

Beyond the oak tree, Ayame looked up from her knelt position and caught a glimpse of the silver-haired man walking away from her. Tilting her head, she wondered where he had come from and why she hadn’t noticed him. The Uzumaki crest that followed him on his back made her even more curious. 

_A shinobi,_ she thought. _Wonder what he’s doing over here._

She watched him for a few moments more, unable to determine what to make of the situation. Finally, she shook her head and looked down at her basket, assessing the number of flowers she had picked this late afternoon, and nodded. 

“This should be enough for Ino,” she said to herself. “I’ll give them to her tomorrow.” 


	2. An Illness

“You wanted to see me, m’lady?”

Hot tea sat on the desk of the Godaime as she held her blonde locks, eyes staring down at her cluttered desk.

“You’re late, Hatake,” she looked up, grimacing at the silver-haired shinobi.

“My apologies,” he tilted his body forward in admission, “I didn’t realize the time.”

“Shizune!” Tsunade called out, clearly aggravated. Unsure if it was from his tardiness, he shoved his hands into his pockets wearily.

“Yes, m’lady?” Shizune quickly came through the double doors, flustered.

“What is that status on the current infirmed shinobi?” Tsunade asked.

Shizune sighed, “not well, m’lady.”

“What’s going on?” Kakashi asked, tilting his head.

“What isn’t going on, Hatake? Where have you been the last few hours?”

“I didn’t realize you needed me to be around, m’lady.”

Tsunade waved a dismissive hand, shaking her head. “We have a serious problem on our hands. It seems a few of our men have contracted some type of illness.”

“What type of illness?”

“We originally thought the 3 man squad who returned from Iwagakure was just severely exhausted,” the Hokage explained, looking up at the silver-haired jonin. “They arrived last night and reported out to me in good condition.”

There was a stiffness in the room that Kakashi hadn’t felt in a long time. The seriousness of the Hokage’s tone caused him to stand a little straighter. 

“However,” she continued, “this morning each of them reported severe exhaustion to the point of loss of consciousness. Upon testing their blood, it seems their chakra levels are so severely depleted, they have fallen into a coma.”

Kakashi turned his head to acknowledge a clearly drained Shizune leaning up against the wall.

“Who is ill?” Kakashi asked, eyebrows knitted in concern. “Is it contagious?” 

“Well,” Tsunade tilted her head as she paused, “Yamato, for one. And as far as we know, it isn’t contagious.”

Kakashi pursed his lips behind his mask.

“There is more,” Tsunade said gravely. “Six more men have returned from the Land of Earth this morning. They have reported feeling weak as well without any prior knowledge of the illness already infecting the previous squad to return.”

“Do you think this was done on purpose?” Kakashi asked, narrowing his eye.

“We have reason to believe so,” Tsunade nodded. “But we can’t be sure. It presents itself as an illness, but could very well be poison. The only evidence we have for it being poison is that myself, Shizune, and Sakura have not caught it.” 

“What evidence do we have?” Kakashi asked, “and how do we know you can’t catch it. Are you taking precautions?”

“Before we realized what was happening, many of the medical staff assessing the men did not wear protective equipment. Therefore, if it is an illness, they have been exposed,” Tsunade sighed heavily. “However, we have more reason to believe that it is not a contagious illness. Upon further inspection, each shinobi had a small puncture wound around their ankles or shins. If not for Sakura, we wouldn’t have noticed.”

“Puncture wound?” Kakashi unfolded his arms across his chest. “Like a needle of some sort?”

“We aren’t sure,” Shizune responded. “But whatever it is that caused it, we need to find a solution. Soon.”

“What do you mean? How soon?” the jonin asked, uneasy.

“We approximate that if we don’t find a cure in the next 72 hours, their chakra levels may exhaust.”

“Exhaust,” Kakashi repeated to himself. He knew all too well how it felt to have low chakra levels. He signed, thinking of his fellow comrades lying in comas, _dying_.

“They’ll die” Kakashi confirmed aloud. Tsunade nodded sadly. “How can I help?”

“I have been checking my sources diligently all afternoon and I do not have any remedies for such an illness - or poison,” Tsunade reported wearily. She crossed her fingers together, her red nails chipped at the tips. “We need answers, Kakashi. I may be well versed in medical ninjutsu, but I am limited on information regarding medicinal herbs.”

“Medicinal herbs?” Kakashi asked, “like an herbal remedy? Do you think this is the appropriate route to take? Finding the right plant may take days - maybe even weeks.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Tsunade responded. “In the meantime, I have Sakura sifting through scrolls to help find some answers. I have beaconed out to the other 4 nations to inform them of this so that they are aware. I received word back from 3 of them that they plan to search to find something on their end that can help.” 

Tsunade looked tired, her eyes unsure. “If this is intentional, we have to be tireless in our search for a cure and to find the source. This could wipe out an entire force.”

“Do we stop all missions? How do we prevent others from being targeted?”

“We must first find a solution, then we will deal with the reason.”

Kakashi nodded, unsure of what to think. Not many things disrupt the silver-haired jonin, but this seems to shake him.

“I will find out what I can,” he said. “You can count on me.”

* * * * * * * * *

In some regions, irises are known for wisdom, truth, and valor. Ayame looked down at her flower arrangement, doting on the small details she had meticulously put together. But where she came from, irises were thought to be a symbol of rebirth. A new beginning. A new hope. 

_I suppose it means the same thing in a way,_ Ayame thought, cutting the stems of another sprig. She always thought of moving to Konoha as a new beginning. She hadn’t left much behind in her old village anyway.

Rōtasu, or Village Hidden in the Lotus, was a relatively small village not far from the Land of Fire. Its main source of income came from the vast fields of flowers that took up the bulk of the village’s acreage. The Hasu clan she belonged to was a well-established clan in the village with superior Jutsu techniques that surpassed even the elders of the village. The lotus kekkei Genkai that flowed through her veins was once only used for sprouting flowers from Rōtasu’s fertile soil. Its capabilities for defense and offense were well known but never used. 

Ayame had never been taught to use her jutsu as a weapon. It was merely for producing blossoms and generating income for the village. Her village didn’t have shinobi, they simply taught peace and expected others in the world to do the same. But that was not always the case- even from within the village. 

An urge to swallow tempted her, her mind flashing back to a time that changed her. A prick on her skin, a sense of betrayal, the death and destruction, _a hospital bed_. Anxiety shivered up her spine. 

“Ayame?” 

Ayame jumped, dropping the floral shears onto the workbench. 

“Are you ok?” Ino Yamanaka held her shoulder, her aquamarine eyes round with concern. “You were just holding the shears and staring into space for, like 30 seconds.” 

Ayame nervously laughed, arranging her tools on the workbench. “I’m fine, just thinking.” 

Waving a dismissive hand, she turned her attention back to the clear vase that held her floral arrangement. 

“What do you think?” she asked the young Yamanaka. “I’m almost finished. I just want to fill this space in.” 

“Beautiful! I don’t think you need to ask my dad anymore for approval. He seems very impressed with your work and you have certainly proved yourself as talented and trustworthy. Not only that - but you find the most beautiful flowers!” Ino smiled brightly, her eyes squinting. _Such blissful youth._

“Thank you,” Ayame smiled softly. What a relief it had been to find a flower shop with a help wanted sign when she arrived in the village a year ago. Inoichi-san had been hesitant, unsure when Ayame spoke of her residence is from a different village rather than Konoha. But he obliged and hired her anyway. 

“Oh, 4:00!” Ino exclaimed excitedly, “Finally time to go home. The day passes so quickly when I have another girl working here other than _my mom.”_

_“_ I agree,” Ayame said quietly, nodding. 

“Hey, Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing over here? We’re just about to close up.” 

“Can I speak with you?” The back of some unruly silver hair was all Ayame could see when she looked up. Tilting her head, she recognized it almost immediately. 

_That’s the man from yesterday in the field,_ Ayame thought. _Wonder what he’s doing here?_

_“_ Me?” Ino said surprised. 

“If you don’t mind,” the man gestured towards the door of the flower shop. Behind the workbench, Ayame looked over, seeing his face for the first time - or at least, what she could see. A sharp nose and chiseled chin hid behind a blue mask. Above the fabric that covered his lower face, the Konoha hitai-ate hid his left eye, his other black one looking rather apathetic. She wondered absently what he was hiding under there. 

“What is it?” Ino asked, seeming concerned. “Is there something wrong? Is Yamato-sama worse?” 

Looking taken aback, the man she called Kakashi blinked his visible eye. 

“I didn’t realize you knew,” Kakashi said finally. 

“I heard from Sakura when she was rushing to the hospital to help this morning. Is that why you’re here? ” 

“Sort of,” Kakashi leaned on his left leg, his hands shoved deep in his uniform pockets. “I’m here to get some information that I think you may know.” 

“What kind of information?” the conversation continued. 

“How well versed in herbalism are you?” Kakashi asked. 

Ino nodded uncomfortably, “not very, unfortunately. I’m sorry...” 

“Oh, well no worries - is Inoichi here?” Kakashi asked, looking past the young blonde. Ayame looked up as well, and for a moment his single eye met her two jade ones. He blinked, looking as though he wasn’t sure who he was looking at. A soft blush crept across the Hana’s cheeks and she quickly looked back down at her work. 

“It’s just me and Ayame right now,” Ino said disappointedly, not realizing the intense exchange that had just happened over her shoulder. Looking back at the youngest Yamanaka, Kakashi blinked for a moment as though to collect his thoughts and nodded. 

“Right,” he said finally, clearly flustered. “I’ll see if I can find him at your residence. Perhaps he can assist me.” 

Turning around, he scratched the back of his head uncomfortably and began walking towards the door. 

“What do you need to know about herbalism?” Ayame finally spoke up, her hands held tightly together at her waist. She wouldn’t normally have spoken up, keeping to her floral arranging in private. But this was something she felt she needed to help with. 

Kakashi turned around, surprised. Again, the two stared at each other for a moment. 

“Do you know herbalism?” Kakashi asked. 

“I do,” she said finally. “It was my specialty.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please feel free to check out my Tumblr page for more of my writings :) 
> 
> https://kashi-prompts.tumblr.com/


	3. Wounds

“Wow,” Ino murmured under her breath.

The two girls had listened carefully to the jonin’s words, Ayame’s mind carefully considering how she could help with the details he provided them. 9 men laid in the Konoha hospital right now, their chakra just continuously draining itself. 

“I hadn’t realized it was this serious when Sakura informed me this morning,” Ino frowned. 

Kakashi turned to Ino who was hanging over the counter listening. Her round eyes glued to the two of them in deep interest. 

“Not a word to anyone about this,” he pointed a finger at her with an austere expression. “I understand Sakura told you, but that was a mistake. I don’t think she fully realized the weight of the situation at the time. The same goes for you, Ayame.” 

“Understood,” Ino stood up straight, flattening out her apron. “I won’t tell a soul and you can trust Ayame with your life. That I’m sure of.”

Ayame smiled kindly at her younger friend. 

“But I’m afraid you're both going to have to leave now. I’ve already neglected closing up for the last 20 minutes and if I’m late again, my parents will probably kill me. Ayame-kun, you can finish this vase up tomorrow morning. Go help Kakashi-sensei.” 

Swatting the two away with a smile, the youngest Yamanaka closed the wooden flower shop door behind them. 

“Byeeee!” she called out from behind the door. Awkwardly, the pair stood on the bustling dusty Konoha street. The silver haired jonin observed people walk by for a few moments as Ayame thought to herself. Should she mention it? She could back out now, never getting involved with anyone or letting them know her past.

 _No_ , she thought. _I have to help. My experience and knowledge can help these people. They’ll die if we don’t intervene._

“I think I may be able to help you,” Ayame said finally, turning to Kakashi. Looking down, she felt as though he was towering above her. Despite the outward appearance of his heavily lidded eyes staring down at her, his gaze was intense - determined as she spoke. “But I’d like to see these puncture wounds first.” 

“You’ll have to wear personal protection equipment before going in,” Kakashi raised his eyebrow. “Konoha’s medical staff still isn’t sure whether or not it is a contagious disease.” 

“I don’t think it is,” Ayame watched a few more people scurry by to return home for dinner. “Actually, I’m almost positive it isn’t.” 

“Have you seen this type of illness before?” Kakashi asked, his eyes on her. 

“You could say that,” Ayame replied calmly. “You see, I’m not from here.” 

The tall body next to her went slightly rigid, small lines under his eye forming in his surprised expression. 

“I guess I just assumed since you were working in the Yamanaka Flower Shop that you were-”

“I am,” Ayame stopped him, seeing the panic set in his eye. “I’m a citizen of Konoha now and I have been for some time. Please don’t think I have malicious intent.” 

The two stared at each other for a beat, Kakashi’s hands shoved deep in his pockets as his shoulders went slack in relief. 

“Where are you from?” he asked finally.

“Rōtasuagekure,” Ayame said, “Village Hidden in the Lotus.”

His eyebrows narrowed, “Rōtasu... I’ve heard of them. I also heard of crimes of treason against the village. A lot of fatalities. But I never heard what happened.” 

“Yeah,” Ayame said dismally. “That is all true.” 

“I don’t think that village exists anymore, from my understanding,” Kakashi said, “Is that why you’re here?” 

“I would just like to help,” Ayame replied quickly, eager to change the subject. “Could we go to the hospital now?” 

“It’s not my favorite place to go, but I suppose we could if you think it would help.” 

* * * * * * * * * * * 

Leaning against the hospital wall, Kakashi looked over at his friend lying in the hospital bed. A twist of helplessness in his stomach made him feel a little nauseous. Yamato’s jonin jacket lay on the back of a chair, his unusual hitai-ate on the nightstand next to him. The desire to reach in his back pocket and pull out his book to pass the time didn’t even flicker across his mind. 

_Imagine if they all died_ , Kakashi thought somberly. Just another batch of shinobi dying for the sake of the village. Except in this instance, it was different. It’s not as though they were killed in combat, or injured to the point where some shinobi would leave them behind (not him, of course). But whatever this was, it could easily wipe out this force. And if it infected more... 

Looking over, he observed the unusual citizen he had come to know so briefly. How strange it was that he had never met her previously, but had seen her two days in a row. It was just how fate would have it, perhaps. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, he just was unsure of how much he should let her in on this mission. She was just a citizen, after all. Not a shinobi with the training and discipline every ninja should have. But if she claims to have some of the knowledge he is looking for and Ino could vouch for her, he was willing to give it a shot. 

He crossed his arms across his chest, watching her as she meticulously unbandaged the ankle of the man he once knew as Tenzo. His bandages were fresh, no puncture wounds noticeable from the exterior. The graze of light from the window above his shoulder hit her auburn braid, the red highlights more evident than before. 

_She’s so beautiful_ , his mind concluded without him even processing the thought. 

“Kakashi,” Ayame’s voice shook him from his thoughts, “I think I’d like to speak with the Hokage.” 

Embarrassed to have been daydreaming, he quickly composed himself. It took him a moment to shift back into reality, scolding his thoughts for feeling desire towards her. Again. 

_I can’t get involved._

“Did you find something else?” Kakashi walked over to where she was standing. Leaning over the foot of the bed, she pointed carefully at the puncture wound on Yamato’s ankle. It wasn’t exactly what he had expected. When Lady Tsunade explained a “puncture wound” he imagined it to be a pinprick of a wound. This was a small gaping hole just above the ankle. 

“Interesting,” he held his chin, thinking. “Much bigger than I anticipated. Is this what you wanted to see?” 

“Yes,” she nodded, not looking away from the wound. Her expression was strange, he observed. Almost as if she was trying to process something more than what was in front of her. Without saying anymore, she began rolling the bandage back around his ankle. 

“I think I need some fresh air,” she managed finally, her complexion paler than before. 

“Queasy?” he tried with a smile, “I don’t like medical things either.” 

She crossed her arms and headed for the door. Kakashi narrowed his eyebrows, confused by her sudden change in demeanor. Quickly, he followed her out the door and down the stairs. Before he knew it, he found her sitting on the bench outside the Konoha hospital, clearly flustered. 

“Everything alright?” He asked, more confused than anything. 

“I don’t think I can help you,” she said abruptly, not looking up. 

“But you said you could,” Kakashi sat down next to her, feeling his frustration bubbling up. He didn’t have time to find someone else with this type of knowledge to help him.

“I know,” she said, “but I changed my mind.” 

“You can’t just change your mind,” Kakashi told her, “there has to be a reason.”

“There isn’t one,” Ayame replied, clearly shaken.

 _Dammit. Now what?_

Dusk was upon them, the sun that was just brightly shining moments before falling behind the treeline. Kakashi sighed to himself, looking down at the ground. Her braid fell over her shoulder, blocking her face from his view. He looked over at her, unsure of what to do next. 

“Look,” Kakashi said, standing abruptly, “you said you could help and I trusted you. But you’ve wasted my time that I don’t have a lot of to help solve this. Thank you for your time, but I’ll have to find someone else to help me.” 

“Wait,” Ayame looked up, seeing only the backend of the shinobi as he began to walk away. “I’m sorry. I’ll help.” 

“How do I know I can trust you?” Kakashi countered, confused by her shifting behavior, “you’re not a Konoha shinobi, you’re from a different village and you have so far only claimed to know how to help. What proof do you have that you even know what how they got those wounds?”

Standing up, Ayame looked at him. Her expression vulnerable, yet defiant to prove something suddenly. Carefully she reached for the high waist of her skirt and began pushing the corner down. Kakashi looked away for a moment, unsure of what this woman was doing. 

“Because I was once poisoned by this same toxin,” she told him.

Looking back, his eye traveled to the pale skin of her exposed skin, her thumb hooked on the waistline of her skirt. If any other woman had dragged him across the village for the last hour and exposed herself to him, he would’ve thought she was crazy. But when he saw what she was showing him, everything suddenly made sense. 

Right above her hip bone were three large holes just like the one Yamato had -- healed. 


	4. A Lead

Outside the office windows, the once clear dusk sky had morphed into an inky canvas of grey clouds. Behind them, the ominous moon ached for a chance to glow beyond the veil of overcast. Beyond the opened glass pane, the leaves of the trees ruffled in the wind. In the distance, an owl hooted. How quickly night had fallen. 

Ayame stood behind the tall shinobi she had agreed to assist. His haste and determination to find as much information as he could had brought them before the Hokage. Despite the presence of the most powerful woman in the village, his shoulders were slumped to their default state of indifference; his slender hands shoved deep within the fabric of his pants.

She stared at the back of his neck as he explained to the Hokage his findings so far. Staring at the back of his head was the only thing that was keeping her heart rate at a reasonable pace. From this close, she could notice the different strands of color that made up his silver head of hair, light strands, and dark strands, all curling ever so slightly at the nape of his neck from the sweat of the day. His headband was tied tightly around the top of his head, supporting his unmanageable hair to lay in a state that practically defied gravity. 

Her ears tuned into the conversation, listening to the man everyone called Kakashi as he explained everything to the Hokage. He referred to her as a citizen. And she _was_ a citizen, but that didn't mean she wasn't like them. She looked up at the two, watching them and wondering what it was like to serve your village by means of protecting it instead of just trying to make money for it.

Despite growing up in a clan that possessed chakra control, Ayame had admittedly never really been associated with shinobi until she uprooted herself and moved to Konoha. The first shinobi she met were the Yamanaka's, and even then, she only spoke to them concerning the floral shop. Of course, she had friends, but they were all regular citizens with everyday tasks. The butcher, the librarian, the ramen shop owner’s daughter who bore the same name as her. It wasn't as though Ayame purposely avoided shinobi, she just didn't have reason to associate with them. 

Now, she was surrounded by them. Capable, strong men and women that had taken an oath to defend Konoha with their lives. And here she was, an average, or a slightly above average, citizen. 

"I understand this sounds like an improbable solution, but so far, it is the only one we have if we are still resolved on a medicinal herb being the main ingredient for an antidote," Kakashi offered, his voice sounding troubled. 

Leaning over, the Hokage looked past the brooding shinobi to Ayame. Flustered by her intense gaze, Ayame stood up straight in confidence and untied her fingers from their web of anxiety. 

"This is Ayame Hana," Kakashi gestured to the young woman, her braid falling forward as she gave the Hokage a respectful bow. "She comes from the Rōtasuagekure, the Village Hidden in the Lotus in the Land of Grass. We discussed them recently if I recall correctly." 

"Yes, I remember," the Hokage nodded, assessing the villager. "That village no longer exists under any governing rule, yes?"

"Yes, m'lady," Ayame responded, her fingers trifling with the fabric of her skirt.

"And you are a citizen of Konoha now, yes?"

Ayame nodded, "I became a Konoha citizen two years ago." 

Despite the rumored age of the Hokage, her appearance did not give away any indication of such. Her amber eyes narrowed in suspicion, her lacquered lips a thin line.

"Why did you come here to become a citizen?" Tsunade questioned, threading her fingers at her chin. 

Ayame did not take offense to the question despite it coming from a place of distrust. Others had asked her this question daily the first few weeks she resided within the walls of Konoha. It didn't bother her anymore. 

"As you said, m'lady, my village - or my birth village - no longer exists as it did when I lived there," Ayame's eyes met the Hokage's, confident in her answers. She had nothing to hide. "But the reason I am here, as Kakashi-san said, is because I was once injured by what seems to be the same poison your infantry members are battling now. I feel I can help."

"You were poisoned and you're still alive, are you not?" Tsunade countered, "How did you survive? If you are a citizen, do you even hold the same nature of chakra we shinobi use?" 

"If you will let me explain," the words tumbled from her mouth before she realized what she was saying. Beside her, Kakashi's eye swiveled in her direction, impressed but slightly uncomfortable as he adjusted his weight to his other foot. 

"My clan was murdered as a result of this toxin," Ayame explained somberly. "I lost all of them. It is just me now. Which is why I came here, anew." 

"I understand why you would come here," Tsunade responded carefully, "but if you do not have the same variety of chakra us shinobi have, I do not see the benefit of continuing this conversation. We need an antidote that will work for our bodies and our amount of chakra." 

"My bloodline does have the same chakra that you do," Ayame's hands fell to her sides, determined to express her point. 

"You are not a shinobi," Tsunade replied defiantly.

"I am not a ' _shinobi,_ ' but I do possess chakra and I can control it," Ayame answered, her eyes flickering over to a plant that sat perched in the corner on a stool. The plant's leaves were browned around the edges from neglect, its soil thirsty for water. 

"I can show you," taking a deep breath, Ayame took a few steps towards the stool that held the small plant. Judging by its state, she assumed it hadn't been watered in a few weeks. The sunlight from the windows was barely enough to keep it alive. 

Kakashi turned to her, his thin eyebrows knitted together as he watched her. Tsunade sat back in her chair, turning with another skewed eyebrow of skepticism. 

"Please, Hana-chan, if you -" 

Something dismissed the Hokage’s words as she trailed off. Ayame could feel them both watching her as she picked up the potted plant, focusing as she turned back around. Lifting it to eye level, she hung her hand over the leaves. A bead of sweat dripped from her brow as the brown foliage rustled in its pot, green epidermis overtaking the listless edges. Within a few moments, the plant stood straight, its soil moist and leaves bright. 

She looked up, her eyes meeting Kakashi's for a moment. His eyebrows were raised in bewilderment. He turned his head to look at Lady Tsunade, his expression smug.

"As I said, I am not a shinobi by your terms, but I can manipulate and grow plants with my chakra. In my clan, we were not taught to use our skills in offense or even defense as your village does. It was exclusively used as a tool for the village to prosper. My clan was the only one in our village to possess more chakra than the average citizen. Thus, we were able to grow plants at will." 

A few beats passed of silence. No one spoke as the owl hooted again in the distance. Feeling her body warmed by the exorbitant amount of energy she had just focused, she could feel sweat dripping down the back of her neck. 

"This changes things," Tsunade nodded, her demeanor shifting as she looked back at her desk. She shuffled a scroll in front of her as Ayame leaned down to replace the plant. 

The sweat that dripped from her brow moments before fell to the floor as she suddenly felt the ground shift beneath her. Tripping, she leaned a hand against the wood-paneled wall. The voices in the room began to resonate in her ears as merely a muffled set of noises. 

"Are you ok?" Ayame felt a firm grip on her upper arm, pulling her up as she felt knees give way beneath her. Looking up, her eyes crossed as her blurred vision focused on the white blotch of hair that moved in front of her. She heard him move the plant she had placed back on the stool and guided her to sit. 

"Sit her down- she looks like she is going to faint," she heard Lady Tsunade say, closer to her now. The sound of paper fanning her came before the cool air. "Her complexion is pale." 

"Ayame," Kakashi called, bending a knee to be eye level with her. 

Taking a deep breath, Ayame could feel herself coming to as Kakashi dipped his head to fix his gaze with hers. She lifted her head from the wall, shaking it to brush off the dizziness that enveloped her. As she looked up, she realized his hand was still gripping her upper arm, gentle yet firm enough to keep her in place. 

With reality piecing itself together around her, she felt a current shoot up her spine at the moment as their gaze intertwined. Warmth spread to every cavity in her body, her ears feeling hot. In her chest, her heart did a rhythmic dance against her ribcage. She was unsure if its pounding was from her heart trying to reroute the blood back to her brain or from the intensity of a single charcoal eye that bore back at her. A second passed, then two. His eyebrow fell, his gaze softened. If she wasn't mistaken, she thought she might have noticed a change in the color of the skin on his cheekbones.

“Are you alright?” Tsuande asked her from behind Kakashi, using a sheet of paper to fan her. She looked between the two, her eyebrow cocked. 

He blinked and the moment fled. 

"Yes," she said finally, nodding slightly. His hand fell from her upper arm, its warmth leaving her skin feeling cold. She felt silly for blushing like a child. 

"I'm fine. I'm sorry - I haven't -" she tried to explain, but Tsunade’s sharp tongue cut her off, bringing her back to the subject quickly. 

"You say your clan had more chakra than a normal citizen. This would make them exemplary candidates to be shinobi," she heard Tsunade say, her arms crossed across her heavy chest. "But if that is the case, why would bringing a simple plant back to life cause you to faint?"

Instinctively, her hand went to her side, where her healed wounds resided. His eye followed her hand, settling there as she looked over at Lady Tsunade. 

Trying to process her questions, Ayame looked over at the Hokage. "This is the aftereffects of being poisoned by the Tsukamu root.”

"Tsukamu root?" Tsunade lifted her head.

"Yes," Ayame took a deep breath. "The aftereffects of this poison permanently deplete your chakra levels. I was hit three times, so my levels are severely deficient. As you can see, this is what happens when I try to use them." 

"The poison comes from this Tsukamu root?" Kakashi asked.

Ayame paused for a moment, thinking. She imagined the menacing, gray vine of thorns that twisted under the soil of her clan's small district in their village, pricking the unsuspecting victim's skin.

"The Tsukamu root is a vine of thorns that grows underground," Ayame explained, looking up at him. "It is meant to be stealthy and was a forbidden jutsu in my clan. I won't explain to you the history of how I was poisoned, but all you need to know is that it was intentional when it happened to me.”

"We believe this was an intentional attack on our village as well," Tsunade commented. "How could it happen to all nine men?" 

Ayame shook her head, "There was a group of individuals in our village who were hell-bent on destroying my clan. The _person_ who was responsible for creating these poisonous thorns is dead now. You have nothing to worry about." 

Kakashi lifted his chin, surprised by her words, "dead? So you believe this wasn't deliberate?" 

Ayame nodded, "if I am right, and I truly believe I am, the only person who could create this type of jutsu was - was my brother. But as I said... he is dead." 

Her words hung in the air between them. In Kakashi's mind, he pieced together what she was saying. She had purposely been poisoned by her brother, as was her whole clan. She stared at him, feeling uncomfortable with the energy she had created in the small office. They needed to know that this wasn't the same as what had happened to her years ago. She was positive he was dead, unable to cause more harm. 

"This has to be the leftover remains of his thorn jutsu," she explained, standing up. She tidied her skirt, brushing off the dirt of the day's works at the Yamanaka flower shop. She tried to appear unbothered by everything. Kakashi took a step forward, surprised she could stand after nearly fainting only five minutes beforehand. 

"The only antidote I know is the Iyasu flower. It is what I used once I realized had been infected," Ayame looked between the two of them. "It is a secret scroll technique passed down generation to generation that is used only in my clan for medical instances such as this. It produces a field of these flowers that can be mashed up and prepared into a serum to drink. I would imagine that there still may be scrolls hidden on my clans compound if they weren't looted for money after --" 

She trailed off, watching as Tsunade quickly went behind her desk to look at some papers. 

"The Iyasu flower," Tsunade repeated, her finger trailing down a scroll that seemed to house a long list. "It isn’t on the list of plants Sakura has tried so far. I have never heard of it. That isn't to say you are fictionalizing it, but I don't think I can send one of my best shinobi and a villager on a wild goose chase for a scroll to a fallen village in the Land of Grass."

"M'lady," Kakashi interrupted, stepping forward. Tsunade looked up, and the two exchanged an intense gaze for a moment. Ayame could tell the tensions in the room were high. Time was quickly ticking away, and there was not much that could be done if this didn't work. 

"The wounds Ayame showed me seem almost identical to the ones present on Yamato and the other shinobi. I don't think we are incorrect in following this path." 

"We have three days, Kakashi," Tsunade reminded him, "three days, and those men will be dead. This - this Iyasu flower, even if we do get the scroll, Ayame is the only one who can use it. And if that is the case, we're doomed from the get-go. Look at her, she can barely bring a plant back to life." 

Ayame's ears began to burn, her stomach twisting in embarrassment and anger. The Hokage wasn't wrong, but her words stung. Even if the scroll were found, the amount of chakra needed to create the amount required would put her out for days, if not permanently. 

"I will do it," Ayame said quickly, "I don't care if it kills me. This is the first opportunity I have as a Konoha citizen to help, and I am more than willing to do so. Allow me this opportunity to serve, m'lady." 

Tsunade looked over at her, her amber eyes intertwining with two jade ones. Unsure of what else she could say, Ayame exhaled quietly and gave another bow. 

"I agree," Kakashi said suddenly behind her. "I think we should give this a chance. Herbal medicine was a lucky shot to begin with. Let's take what is being offered to us." 

Tsunade looked between the two, thinking deeply. Outside, the rain began to hit the window pane melodiously. One, two, three - almost sounding like the tempo of a song. The only noise in the room. 

"Fine," Tsunade sat down in her chair, the wheels creaking as she sighed heavily. Placing her head in her hands, Ayame could tell the Hokage was clearly overwhelmed. It seemed that this was the only lead they had to save these men and women. If not for Kakashi and Ayame's serendipitous encounter in the floral shop, the Hokage would still be searching for a lead. 

"Leave at dawn," she said finally, looking up at the two. "And return next day at dusk. No later. Now go get some rest." 


	5. Dawn

The early morning sunrise cast over the treetops of Konoha, painting the foliage in brilliant hues of orange and red. As Ayame walked towards the village's front gate, she felt optimistic about her journey with Kakashi and the likelihood of healing these shinobi. No one should have to go through such a painful and debilitating illness as she had. It was all up to her to find those scrolls and perform that jutsu. She was sure it would be executed smoothly. Hopefully.

On her back, she carried her rucksack, stuffed with tubes of all the medicinal herbs she may need, along with a handful of tools to craft medicine if required. These items, of course, were brought as a precautionary measure. She had no reason to believe that she would use any of them. Nevertheless, she brought them just in case.

Maybe she was too optimistic.

Her strappy sandals shuffled down the dirt street as she thought about the final time she had left Rōtasuagekure. She had no family left there or anywhere, for that matter. Nothing had prepared her for the devastation that originated within that village or the unsuspecting role her brother had played in it. How naive she had been.

She thought of her brother for a moment, the innocent little boy who she always perceived to be a child in her mind. He had grown up so quickly that she had hardly noticed his changing behavior until it was too late. His new ideologies had been molded by someone else. She blamed herself when she laid in bed at night, wondering if her life would have had a different outcome had she intervened earlier.

As she rounded the last corner before the main gate, she spotted Mrs. Genchi, a widowed old woman who still owned and ran the only tailor shop in the village. Ayame nodded her head in greeting as she passed by, watching as she swept the storefronts path with her withered broom.

"Good morning, Genchi-sama," Ayame hitched her rucksack further up her back.

"Good morning, Ayame-chan," The old woman continued to sweep, not looking up. Ayame wondered if the tailor shop owner questioned why she headed towards the gate with a backpack rather than towards the flower shop. She bit the inside of her cheek.

At the gate, the orange glow of the sunrise was at its brightest. It was almost blinding as it came over the horizon. The large wooden doors cast two dark shadows heading out of the Leaf. Against the brick column leaned the man everyone called Kakashi, his backpack at his feet and a book in one hand. Ayame assessed him as she drew closer, observing his profile that was concealed behind a mask. She absently wondered again why he covered his face.

"Morning," he greeted as she approached. She wondered if he had seen her coming, only for it to dawn on her moments later that he is taught to listen for footsteps.

"Good morning," Ayame nodded solemnly, unsure of how he treated the seriousness of the mission. He closed his book in one hand and turned to face her.

"It seems there are more shinobi that have returned ill this morning," Kakashi informed her grievously. His voice was quiet, not wanting anyone around to hear. She leaned closer. "So this mission is growing more urgent by the day. We still have time, but the situation is becoming more serious. This totals 14 shinobi that are hospitalized right now."

"Understood," Ayame stood up straight, ready.

"Lady Hokage has her assistant, Shizune working with the Medic Corps to formulate a backup drug in case our mission falls through," He explained, his thumb stroking the spine of his book absently.

"Right. We should get going then," she nodded, turning to the gate. "Anything else?"

"Yes, actually," he reached into his backpack, revealing a pair of shin-high boots. She looked down and noticed he, too, was wearing the same kind.

"The tactical propper dispatched these to us. Hopefully, they will keep us protected from any underground threats."

Kakashi handed the boots to Ayame, who assessed them skeptically. Carefully, she took off her old sandals and replaced her feet with the boots.

"I mean, the rest of our body is exposed, though."

"I know. I already discussed it with them. But on such short notice, we just have to remain diligent in monitoring our surroundings. I know you do not have shinobi training, so don't worry about it. Just remain cognizant."

Ayame nodded, wiggling her feet in the boots. She could only imagine the sores that were to come after walking in these all day.

"Alright then. Ready?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Yes," Ayame responded, smiling slightly with excitement. 

"Lead the way," he said to her, his single eye squinting in a smile. She looked over at him, stunned that he was trusting her to guide them. But really, why wouldn't he? She smiled back, hitching her backpack up again as she began to walk in the direction of her old village.

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

The two moved quickly, or at least as quickly as Ayame's feet allowed them to. She was not a shinobi by Konoha's standards, but she did happen to be in good shape. Kakashi, of course, could move much faster than she ever could. Regardless of his pace, he didn't let her fall behind.

The journey from Rōtasuagekure to Konoha had taken Ayame three days on foot by herself. Their pace today was much quicker, but she still anticipated they would need to stop at some point. Their conversations were light, mostly commentary on the scenery and the journey at hand. Often, he would pull out his book and read as they traveled. Ayame led the way, directing them to the best of her ability to her old village through thick foliage and dry dirt paths.

He asked her once if she wanted to stop to rest for a bit, but she declined, reminding him of their tight schedule. He had shrugged in response, allowing her to continue despite her evergrowing slumped shoulders.

"I think we should stop here for the night," Kakashi finally remarked hours later, assessing an opened space through what little light the day had left. Above them, an opening was naturally formed around a canopy of trees, displaying twilight's constellation of stars.

It was only when she stopped did she realize how exhausted her body was. She had been walking for 13 hours straight, eating little pellet-looking food Kakashi had offered her as they traveled. If it weren't for her sheer determination to save the men and women of Konoha, she would have surely collapsed hours ago.

She sat down on a rock nearby, feeling her feet scream in gratitude. Underneath her boots, she was sure her feet were littered with blisters. The darkness brought cooler temperatures. Ayame wasn't sure if it was her exhaustion or the cold that brought a slight chill to her spine.

"You look exhausted," he pointed out casually, collecting a few twigs nearby for a fire.

"I'm fine," she waved a dismissive hand, taking her backpack off. Her eyelids begged for sleep, and every inch of her body told her it was time to rest. She watched him perch the twigs up in a tent, preparing for a small fire. He put his hand down near the bottom of the pit, and a moment later, a spark of flame came up.

"Should we have a fire right now?" Ayame asked, looking around. "Won't it draw attention?"

"Yes," Kakashi agreed, standing up. "But I have no reason to believe we're in danger here. It's probably going to be cold tonight. Plus, I'll be awake. Someone has to keep watch."

"You're not going to sleep?" she asked him, unrolling and setting her blanket down for the evening near a small boulder. He sat on a rock close by, stoking the fire with a long stick.

"I'm fine," he responded assuredly, shrugging off his jonin jacket and carefully gathering it up to place on the ground next to him. Ayame stretched her legs out on her blanket and yawned as she rolled her shoulders. She looked over at him, feeling guilty for wanting to sleep while he kept guard.

"Shouldn't you rest, though? I'm sure you're just as tired as I am," Ayame asked. She watched as he pulled off his Konoha headband, his silver hair falling flatly over his forehead.

She couldn't quite place it, but there was something unusually stunning about his presence. The way his disheveled hair rested over his brow after a long day. The look of his body without his bulky green jacket, his shoulders hunched but broader than she initially perceived. She watched as he shifted one leg forward, his limb looking longer and more muscular at this distance. Ayame pushed her hair behind her ear, her eyes peering over his tightly wrapped ankles. She couldn't understand why she studied him so closely, but she felt warmth spread like wildfire throughout her body when she did. The flickering light of the fire and the late hour of the day blended together in her mind to create an exhilarating new feeling.

"I'll be alright," he said, looking up at her from across the fire. The flickering light of the flames danced across his shadowy face. He gave her a small, reassuring smile. She noticed his other eye, the long scar that ran across his lid and cheek, cutting right through his thin gray eyebrow and disappearing under his mask. When he smiled, his eyes creased at the corners. He looked like a different person without his headband and jacket.

"I'm sure I'll doze off for a little bit at some point," he assured her, looking up at the sky above. The light flickered off his Adam's apple.

"Thank you for your patience today," she said, leaning back on her elbows, "I'm sure it was painful for you to walk so slowly. But we should get there early tomorrow."

"It was a nice change of pace," Kakashi slid down his bottom down into the dirt, using the rock he had just used to rest his back. Bending his knee, he flickered his eye back over to her.

"I was thinking," she heard him say, "You said this Tsukamu root had lasting effects on your chakra reserves. Have you trained to attempt to gain some of that lost chakra back?"

Ayame looked over at him, surprised. "I - I have not, really. Or rather, I'm not really sure how. I mean, I know how to exercise and train. But my chakra was always just something that was _there_ and then one day, it wasn't. I had no guidance on how to get it back."

"What happened when you were low on chakra in your old village?"

"We would be sent to do other work, and someone else would come in to take our place of growing the flowers. My cousins and I were cycled through. One day it would be me growing, and the next day it was someone else."

Kakashi nodded, looking at the fire, and a rueful leer appeared beneath his mask, "Sounds like they just used you."

"Yeah," Ayame agreed dismally.

"I'm sorry about your clan, by the way," Kakashi looked over at her somberly. "What you said yesterday, it must have been difficult."

Ayame frowned, looking down at her lap and picking at fingertips. "I just wish I could have saved them."

"I'm sure you couldn't have saved them all and yourself."

"I could have tried."

Kakashi looked over at her, observing her as she nervously fiddled with her fingers. In the orange light of the fire, he could see a layer of coiled frizz haloed around her braid. He found this comforting, although he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because of how hard she had worked to get here today, with no formal training as a shinobi to go long distances in short periods. Yet her determination had surprised him.

An owl hooted in the distance, reminding him of the one he heard last night in Tsunade's office.

"You shouldn't blame yourself," he said finally, his eyes locked on her.

"But I could have prevented it if I had paid more attention to what my brother was up to. Why he wasn't around when he should have been. I just figured he had other duties, and we covered for him. I didn't expect him to be ..."

Kakashi nodded his head, understanding. "Regardless, you can't change what happened. You just have to deal with the reality and move on."

Ayame looked up at the fire, the glowing flames licking at the sticks he had placed in a pile. Frowning, she thought of her brother, her own blood, the reason she had no family left. Did she miss them? Of course. But did she yearn for the never-ending labor and mistreatment? No. Certainly not.

"But I don't think your charka situation is a lost cause," Kakashi said, shifting his tone. She watched him kick a small rock with his sandal. "You said you haven't trained, but have you tried other methods?"

Ayame looked over at him, "I think my case is a bit different, wouldn't you say?"

"But have you tried?" Kakashi countered. His tone was tenacious but lighthearted in nature. She considered just ignoring him, not wanting to rehash her inability to conduct chakra. But when she looked over at him, he raised his eyebrows in anticipation of her response.

"I haven't," she tried to push back a smile that crept up on her quickly. "As I said, I would imagine my circumstance is different."

"I'm assuming no one ever taught you what is actually going on inside your body," Kakashi returned. This felt like banter between two friends, not between two people who had just met less than 24 hours ago and were shipped out together on a time-crunched mission. Or perhaps he was flirting with her. Ayame pursed her lips, not taking the bait.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Ayame yawned, stretching her arms. Didn't want to seem too interested, she thought.

"I mean, I don't have to tell you," He quipped, reflecting back her disinterested tone. He stood up, stretching his arms as well. "I just thought maybe you'd want to know what's really going on."

Ayame's ears perked up, and she looked up at him, his back turned to her as he gathered a few more branches in the brush behind them.

"What do you mean, what's really going on? I would think I know more of what's happening in my body than you do."

"That may be true," he said as he stood with a twig in his hand. "But you were never taught the basics of your chakra network. It's not some central point in your body. It's a system of vessels that channel through you. I saw you earlier when we were walking with my eye, and your chakra network isn't as damaged as you believe it is."

"I'm sorry?" Ayame felt her face flush as she quickly looked over at him. She was grateful for the darkness around them.

As she spoke, he turned to her, his left eye opened. Her brain couldn't quite comprehend what she was looking at—the red glow of it, the spinning iris. His complete gaze assessed her, looking through her like a window.

"With my Sharingan, I can see some of your chakra network. When you were walking in front of me today, I used it to see if your network had been severed where you were previously injured. My assumption was correct, and it wasn't, but it is severely damaged."

"Severely damaged," Ayame repeated, looking down at the fire.

"Yes," he turned back around and shut his left eye as he gathered more sticks for the fire.

"If your network was severed, you wouldn't be able to use any of your chakra," he said, sitting back down. "But as you showed us last night, you can. You are able to maneuver some chakra through your body with some health repercussions. But that doesn't mean it can't be mended and used. It just may take extra energy to push your chakra through the channel."

"And how do I do that?" Ayame asked skeptically.

Kakashi casually threw a few twigs into the fire. "Today, you used a good amount of energy to get here. More so, I would say, than you do on a regular basis. Although you may feel drained, your body should have generated chakra through your physical movements."

"Is this what you were thinking about all day?" Ayame laughed. "I understand. But how do I push it through? It's not like you can widen an injured vessel."

"That will come from healing and spiritual energy," Kakashi explained, "healing can be done back in Konoha. I'm sure you've never seen someone for this injury, right?"

"No," Ayame replied. "I never thought to."

"I doubt it can be healed completely at this point, but it's worth a try."

"And this spiritual energy?"

"Spiritual energy and physical energy is what chakra is made of. Physical energy manifests from training or exertion. Spiritual energy, however, comes from within," the silver-haired shinobi explained, holding a twig between his hands. She watched as he twirled it around his fingers. "Think of it as mental stamina. You can increase it by experience or meditation. Have you ever meditated?"

Ayame shook her head, feeling inferior for never having learned any of this. There was a whole world out there she had never been exposed to. Even within the confines of her new home, she had never learned any of this.

"I don't do it often, but it is a good method to use when you are just learning to hone your chakra or learning a different chakra nature," Kakashi explained. "I can teach you - if you want. Or maybe you could try it in the morning before we leave. I think it would help."

He looked over at her, waiting for a response. The pensive ambiance of the sparking fire and the evening's cool breeze enveloped their little huddle. Looking over at him, Ayame gently smiled, nodding. His gaze was penetrating; the twinkling of his dark eye in the fire stirred something in her stomach.

"I will," she said finally.

He smiled softly at her. His eyes locked with hers, and she could see the smile under his mask with the unsteady light of the burning fire. Despite the crisp air of the night, heat washed over her body like a wave against rocks. Time seemed to slow, even for a few seconds. At that moment, it was just the two of them in that forest: no illness, no mission, no timeline. Just his dark eye staring softly into hers. The wrinkle of his eyes when he smiled felt like an electrical shock to her body.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I appreciate your help."

He watched her lips curl with each word. Something twisted in his lower stomach, and he swallowed. He looked away and chuckling softly, immediately regretting severing their connection. He scolded himself for letting his nerves got the best of him. The feeling that had just washed over him was unlike anything he was familiar with. As a man who was rarely ever shaken, he felt jarred by the experience. He was a calm man, dedicated to his role as a shinobi of the Leaf. Something as potent as that feeling would only distract him, he reminded himself.

"No problem," he responded, scratching the back of his neck uneasily. Ayame looked down, smiling softly to herself. This felt quite childlike, but nevertheless, she found herself savoring it.

"Get some sleep," Kakashi said finally, pulling out a battered orange book from his back pocket. He was clearly flustered, she thought. "We have to leave before dawn, so we don't have long. So get some rest. I'll be right here."

Ayame nodded and laid down on her blanket, her heart still pounding in her chest from such a small interaction.

"Thank you," Ayame said again, turning to face away from him. She hesitated, chewing her bottom lip. "Goodnight, Kakashi."

A pause.

"Goodnight, Ayame." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry no screenshots this week, it seems my Sims is acting up. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I rewrote it about 4 times, as I wasn’t sure where I wanted it to go. But I’m very excited to keep going :) Thank you for reading! <3


	6. Rōtasuagekure: Village Hidden in the Lotus

There was something unsettled in Kakashi's stomach when dawn arrived. He had dozed off briefly with his back leaned against a thick tree trunk for support. When his eye fluttered open, he noticed Ayame was already awake with her back turned to him. His eyebrows pushed together as he assessed her, her legs crossed and spine straight. It was then that he realized what she was doing - meditating.

He wasn't sure how long he had dozed off, but the previous day's crawling pace had caught up to him at some point during the night. His eyes had grown heavy, and the words of his book had blurred together. Beside him, she had been resting peacefully. A comforting feeling, he reluctantly admitted.

The foreboding twist in his gut that Kakashi had woken up with seemed to mutate into something akin to fluttering monarchs on a warm summer afternoon as he watched her slouch her shoulders and sigh in contentment. She reached up, stretching her arms to shake off the stillness of her meditative session. His darkened eye traveled over the curves of her rigid body, the indentation of her hips that dropped off at her waist and rounded again at her breasts. He felt his mouth go dry.

In his hand, the pages he had been reading in his book when he drifted off to sleep rested between his thumb. He looked down, opening it back up again to pretend he hadn't been staring as she stood up. He wasn't sure what had come over him in the last twenty-four hours. It was as though the rational, focused part of his brain had simply melted away. Now his mind had been taken over by some adolescent intellect that could barely summon the willpower to concentrate on his favorite book while in front of this woman.

"Good morning," Ayame chirped, reaching to fold her blanket up. "I didn't hear you wake up. I'm glad you rested, though."

Kakashi looked up as though to acknowledge her for the first time. He smiled, closing his book. Above him, the early morning notes of songbirds began to rouse.

"I'm happy you took my advice about meditating," Kakashi said, standing up as well. He reached for his jacket and shrugged it over his shoulders. "I hope it works. You'll need all the chakra you can get for when we return to the village with that scroll."

"I know," Ayame nodded sorely. She frowned, rolling her blanket up and stuffing it in her knapsack.

"You'll do fine," he reminded her, pulling his headband over his eye. "I'm sure."

Rolling her backpack over her shoulders, she stood up. Slowly, she smiled and nodded at him.

"Thanks," she said through the early morning light. "I appreciate your support in this. I'm a little worried about completing the jutsu to produce the flower that _makes up_ the antidote. I'm sure it seems like such a small feat for someone like you, but -"

"You'll be fine," he said assuredly. "You'll just have to focus. Think about your chakra flowing through your body and pushing itself through that injured region. It's all about mental endurance. You'll have to overcome it."

Ayame stood holding the straps of her backpack, thinking over his words. Kakashi slid his knapsack on his back as well, watching her as she reflected.

"We should get going," he told her, disassembling the firepit from the evening before with his boot. "By your estimations, we should reach Rōtasuagekure in about an hour. That'll leave us a couple of hours to find the scroll and head back to Konoha."

"Right," Ayame nodded, feeling moderately overwhelmed by how much of this situation was relying on her. Nevertheless, they headed off.

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

It had previously been discussed where Ayame thought the scrolls might be located. When she had left her village before, things were indeed not what they used to be. Two months had passed while she recovered on her own, and the community had barely been surviving without the money brought in by her family's flower production. She wondered if they had recovered. 

"I know I asked you this yesterday, but I just want to be sure. Do you anticipate there being any enemies there?" Kakashi questioned her suddenly as they walked. "Your village, I mean. Is there anyone there we should worry about hindering us from finding the scrolls?"

Ayame frowned, contemplating his question before shaking her head, "I don't think so."

Beside her, Kakashi pursed his lips, thinking to himself. He had so many unanswered questions. He didn't want to pry, but it was critical information he needed to know. He had reviewed it with the Hokage last night, but something continued to feel uneasy to him.

"Do you know where the people who poisoned you and your clan are?" Kakashi questioned hesitantly.

Ayame inhaled deeply, thinking of her response. "They're dead."

He had waited a few seconds, anticipating her to elaborate, but she hadn't. When he opened his mouth to speak, she cut him off.

"The group of men responsible called themselves the Akai Bara. They didn't feel it was right that my clan could produce flowers on a whim while everyone else had to sow their seeds and wait for them to grow."

Kakashi listened, waiting for her to continue.

"Our clan produced the highest volume of flowers to sell, making us the most affluent group in the village. Their main goal was to abolish our clan of their chakra and distribute it to everyone else so that they too could produce flowers and sell them as fast as we could."

"I don't think that is possible without knowledge of a chakra transfer technique. I can't even accomplish that."

"Right," Ayame smiled uncomfortably. "When you explained chakra networks to me last night, it was the first time anyone had sat down and discussed it with me. No one taught this to us in our village. I'm not even sure if anyone truly knew how it worked. Their skewed perception of chakra was their downfall."

"And your brother?" Kakashi had asked, looking over at her as they walked. She hesitated again. She had never really told anyone what had happened. No one had ever asked.

Ayame kicked a pebble as they walked, looking down at the dirt path. "My brother started it all. He and my father never seemed to get along well. He was always... a loner, I suppose you could say. He was never really good at producing flowers. They would always come out looking rather dull like they hadn't been watered in weeks."

The energy she had woken up with quickly dissipated with the weight of the conversation. She looked over at him, his profile set straight ahead and hands shoved deep in his pockets as they walked. He tilted his head to look at her briefly.

"You don't have to talk about it," he told her assuredly.

"I know," she said, looking up at the purple strokes in the morning sky. "But I've never talked about it."

As Ayame opened her mouth to continue, she felt her body lurch forward without warning, her boot catching on something large. A yelp escaped her lips as she fell on her knees, looking up and feeling dazed.

"Are you okay?" She heard Kakashi ask, turning to her with a wide eye. "What hap-"

As she lifted herself, she followed his sight to a long stretch of thorns that had erupted from the ground. She pulled her foot back from the brambles, surprised.

"These must be the thorns," Kakashi knelt, careful not to touch the sharp barbs. "Did it hurt you?"

Ayame pulled her ankles in and sat on her bottom, inspecting her leg before shaking her head. The reality of the close call caused a thin line of sweat to form on her brow.

"You were right about these boots," she told him, dusting off her knees as she stood.

"We have to be more aware of our surroundings now that we're closer," Kakashi stood, his eyebrows narrowed. "We can't afford to get poisoned as well."

Ayame took a deep breath, a feeling of unease enveloping her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, her eyes fixated on the root. "I guess I didn't see it."

Kakashi considered the thorned vine as well. His eyebrows pushed together in thought. "I didn't see it either," she heard him murmur to himself.

"We should continue," she reminded him after a few beats passed. He held his chin, thinking. She looked at him and then the thorn again. It was possible that it hadn't been there moments before, or - more likely, she hadn't seen it.

Regardless, his fixated scrutiny at the bane of this mission produced a nervous twist in her stomach. 

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ 

It had been two years since Ayame had last set foot in her home of 24 years. When she rounded the entrance, she waited for the familiar natural floral scent to tickle her nose, but it never came. Inhaling deeply, she looked up at the dilapidated wooden gate that was intended to deter any intruders. By the looks of it, it didn't seem as though it was managing that very well.

Ayame wasn't sure what to expect once she entered her former village. She presumed there would be someone standing guard as there always had been. Someone armed and watching over the small village. As the two of them approached the entrance, it was apparent that no one was there to guard it.

Kakashi didn't speak as they walked through the gate, but instead, he let her lead the way. They had discussed strategy for finding the scrolls, but nothing could be set in stone until they had an idea of what they were dealing with. But the further into the village they traveled, the tighter Ayame's chest became.

Everything was in shambles. Houses that were once built to withstand years of wear seemed to be barely standing, let alone providing shelter to whoever was dwelling there. The cobbled street that twisted through the village was stained with a thin layer of dust and soil. Her ears listened for the sounds of regular life, people getting ready to work out in the fields, children getting ready for school - but there was nothing. It was just silent.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone around," Kakashi quietly commented to her, observing the same things she had. Ayame nodded, not saying a word. The fragrance of the blooming fields she had been so accustomed to was no longer wafting in the air around her. The further they wandered, the worse the unfamiliar odor seemed to get. It smelled like something had spoiled and had been neglected to be cleaned.

A tabby cat swiveled out of a door by her, its fur patchy and grimy. It looked like it hadn't eaten in weeks. Without hesitation, Ayame started to walk towards it, prepared to give it any bit of food she had stuffed in her backpack. It looked over at her, its eyes wide with terror before dashing away out of sight.

Ayme stood there, dumbfounded as she looked around.

"What happened?" She murmured. She knew Kakashi did not know the answer. In the house where the cat had come from, Ayame peeked through the window on her tiptoes. Inside, it looked as though someone had ransacked the place. Furniture was turned over; garbage was strewn all over the floor. The smell of cat urine and rot reached her nose quickly. She looked back at Kakashi, unsure of what to make of all this. His eyes told her he was just as perplexed and concerned as she was.

"Look," Ayame said abruptly as she looked further down the path. In front of a decaying hut sat a young boy, perhaps just beyond early adolescents. She quickly ran over to him, seeing his neck bent backward against the dirty stone wall, resting. But the closer she got to him, the worse the sight of him became.

She knelt beside him, realizing that he was much younger than she had initially thought. He couldn't have been older than eight or nine. His hair was matted, and dirt covered every inch of the clothing that hung off his body like a clothesline. He was just skin and bones.

"Hey," she called out to the boy, her voice cracking as she looked him over. "Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me? What happened here? Where is everyone?"

She felt Kakashi's presence behind her, kneeling down in front of the boy. She didn't look over at him but instead started to search through her bag frantically for her medicinal herbs.

"I can help you," she told the boy. He didn't respond as she dumped the contents of her bag on the graveled road. "I used to be the herbalist here. I used to live here."

Her chest felt tight, and her stomach twisted. She took a deep, shaken breath as she picked up each vial, reading the labels as the liquid in them sloshed about. Her hands shook at the overwhelming reality around her.

"Here, I think-"

"Ayame," she heard Kakashi's voice next to her. It was soft but pointed. She didn't look up but clenched her teeth as the back of her throat tightened. In her palm, her hand squeezed the vial.

When she finally lifted her eyes, she peered up at the boy. Kakashi's two fingers were cautiously placed under his neck, feeling for a pulse. It was clear the boy was dead.

Swallowing hard, Ayame took a deep breath. Her head was buzzing with anxiety and panic. What had happened here? Where did everyone go? Why was this child dead on the street, covered in dirt and dried blood that wasn't his own?

"We should keep going," Kakashi said cautiously, turning to pick up her bag. She couldn't move, her body feeling weighed down by the world around her. Bile rose up in her mouth, stinging the back of her throat. Quickly, she stood and stumbled between the two houses. Piled-up garbage littered the alleyway as she heaved beside a trash can.

Once she had emptied the contents of her stomach, she wiped the sweat from her brow and stood. Her hands were shaking. The sheltered life she once lived had never given her the opportunity to witnessed something like this. A part of her wondered if anyone was alive at all in this village.

"Here," she heard Kakashi's voice again, standing beside her. She looked up as he offered her canteen to her, her bag in his hand.

With shaking hands, she took it from him and drank a sip of water, feeling it burn as it went down her dry throat. She looked over with him, closing her canteen and rubbing her watery eye. His expression was somber, and his dark eyes unsettled. She looked away, feeling her chin quivering.

"I know this is hard," she heard him empathized quietly, "but we have to keep going."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello friends. I know this story isn’t as popular as I hoped it would be, but I’m still working on it as a project for myself. I hope those of you who are reading enjoy it :) <3


	7. Destruction

Ayame felt as though the world beneath her was steadily slipping from her the more destruction she witnessed. The once bustling and vibrant village that she had called home was now a desolate stretch of hovel dwellings with a conspicuously lingering stench of decay. 

Kakashi and her traveled further into the village, Ayame reluctantly leading them as she continued to take in the once familiar places that were now abandoned and destroyed. Shops she had once dined in and stores she frequented in her youth were now replaced with shattered, empty windows and a film of dust.

"Stay focused," he reminded her calmly, seeing her eyes resting a few beats too long on a spatter of blood on a brick building. 

Ayame nodded, "this way." 

She led them through what was left of her village, keeping her eyes focused on the path ahead rather than the buildings that inhabited the deserted streets. She picked up her pace as she rounded the last corner before reaching her clan's old sector.

The world shifted again. The location where her childhood home once stood was now entirely transformed into a large pile of rubble. The stone masonry she had admired so much lay in broken-down chunks, perched atop of the wooden piers that had once held up the noble estate. Items she remembered her family using littered the stretch of land, broken pieces of fine china, and clothing shredded from the wreckage. 

"Is this-?" Kakashi stood behind her, his voice trailing off as she nodded slowly. She could hear his words from moments before reverberating in her mind.  _ Stay focused.  _

"We're never going to find it," she uttered to herself. 

"The hatch door?" Kakashi questioned, indicating their previous discussion regarding the location of the scrolls. He stood beside her, his mind also feeling fogged by what he was seeing around him. He had seen destruction. He had seen death. It was something else entirely to see it in this setting. In his mind, he could feel the moments ticking by and the marginal doubt of finding the scrolls. He could only hope that Shizune could discover a cure if they were unsuccessful.

"Yes," she said quietly. "It will take us hours to sift through all this." 

Kakashi looked over at her. Her once bright and radiant profile was now swollen and disturbed by what she was seeing. He felt responsible for bringing her here. She could have gone the rest of her days without coming back here and witnessing this. The way she looked over the destroyed estate caused his chest to tighten. 

"I have an idea," Kakashi told her, stepping back. Ayame looked back at him, her eyes round and glistening. He would not let this mission fail, and he knew neither was she. 

"What?" She asked, her eyebrows narrowing. 

She watched him lift his thumb to his mouth, his teeth biting down on the skin to cause a trickle of blood to erupt from the wound. 

"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu," His hand slammed to the dusty ground, palm spread as smoke flooded around them. Ayame's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of 8 hounds, an assortment of different sizes and breeds. Stepping back, she observed them all as they began looking around. The smallest miniature pug looked between Kakashi and herself, his eyes perplexed. 

"You need us?" the pug asked in a gruff voice. Kakashi stood, nodding his head. 

"I need you all to help us search for something," Kakashi explained, his eyes looking above the hounds towards the rubble. Ayame watched as he placed his hands on his hips, assessing the situation.

"We are looking for a hatch door that would be located under all this rubble," he explained to the dogs. A few of them lifted their heads, their noses twitching as they sniffed the stale air around them. The tallest one crinkled its snout in disgust. 

Ayame stepped forward, "It should be located towards the easternmost point of the house. If I remember correctly, it was a black plank of wood with a long piece of rope attached to the handle. There used to be a rug over it, but I'm not sure if that is still the case." 

The smallest one nodded, "understood." 

With that, the eight canines dispursed quickly, heading towards the direction Ayame had given them. Time was ticking away as the two watched the group shove their mismatched noses through the rubble, searching for any signs of their goal. Ayame walked forward, using her boot to lift up a rather large piece of debris and move it. 

Twenty minutes passed, and then an hour came and went with no signs of finding the hatch. A thin film of soot and dust covered their clothing. Her nose burned from breathing in the debris, and her eyes stung.

"Boss!" Kakashi lifted his head at the sound of the smallest hound. Ayame looked in the direction of the hoarse voice and found the pug running towards them. 

"Did you find it, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked, clapping his hands to rid them of the dust. 

"Yes, follow me!" The two of them followed the small dog, Ayame's heart picking up speed in her chest the closer they came. She climbed over the thick bricks and beams of her childhood home, pushing them aside to keep up with the animal. 

"Here," Pakkun pointed with his nose. The other hounds that had been searching quickly surrounded them, all equally coated with filth. Ayame stepped closer and looked down. 

"That's it," she nodded. Without hesitating, Ayame opened the latch to descend. 

"Wait," she felt Kakashi's hand on her shoulder. "I should go first." 

"I'm fine," she said, already descending the ladder. She couldn't wait another minute to get this nightmare over with. There was nothing more that she wanted other than to find this scroll and return to the Leaf to save those shinobi currently dying in hospital beds. Above her, Kakashi quickly followed her, his booted feet descending the ladder as she reached the musty basement. 

It was not at all how she remembered it. The basement that had once been a sacred resting place for their clan's most prized possessions was now nothing more than a decrepit cellar to hold some aged, now useless scrolls. 

She looked around, thinking of all the articles that used to adorn the walls. Gold plated armor and gardening tools with unique abilities. Now, they were gone. The once polished marble floor was now mute with dust and grime. The ceiling was cracked in multiple places, most likely the result of the impact of the destruction above. She shook her head, feeling the twang of regret for leaving it all behind carelessly. 

Kakashi went forward, his nose twitching at the wave of mildewed odor. 

"I'll stand guard," he told her, his eyes meeting hers for the first time since they arrived. "You go search. Hurry, we don't have a lot of time." 

"Right," Ayame nodded, orienting herself to her surroundings. Carefully, she looked around and wracked her memory of where everything was once located. This place had clearly been ransacked at some point since she had departed. Luckily, she was sure any thief that had been here was not looking for the same thing she was. 

Quickly, Ayame cut down a corner, her feet sliding on the dusty marble flooring. She ran as quickly as her soles would take her to a separate room that housed most of the scrolls her family had used. Opening the door, her chest heaved as she looked at the wracks that were perched on the wall, all empty. 

"Dammit," she swore under her breath, her eyes wide as her mind raced to think. Were they somewhere else? Had she been wrong? 

"Looking for this?" 

Her braid twirled in the air as she turned around instantly. Electricity shot up her spine at the sound of the familiar voice. 

Standing behind her stood a tall hooded man. Her brain could barely comprehend the figure standing before her, let alone the fact that his eyes were like looking into a reflecting pool at her own. His skin was ghostly pale and his face gaunt. Deep in her ear canal, her hearing somehow vanished, replacing itself with a ringing tone that reverberated in her mind. 

"A-Aoi?" her vocal cords barely managed. 

"You remember me, sister?" 


	8. Death

"You remember me, sister?" the man asked, his lips curling in an ominous smile. 

"A-Aoi?" Ayame managed, her mouth dry. "You're supposed to be dead. You died, Aoi. I -" 

This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream or an illusion of some sort. This man could not be her brother, but his unmistakable green eyes staring back at her told her otherwise. In his hand was a blue scroll, the very one she sought after. 

"Ayame?" she heard Kakashi's call out, his voice in a slightly higher pitch than usual. "I think something strange is going on - are you-?" 

Ayame looked up, her eyes meeting Kakashi's over her brother's shoulder. His once disquieted gaze turned stern, his eyebrows knitting together immediately at the sight of the man in front of her. Ayame looked back at her brother, her vision suddenly becoming grainy and blurred. His nefarious smile shifting as he moved, leaving a trail of rippling colors and bright lights behind. 

She blinked, feeling her heart racing as she tried to focus her vision. Her skin felt itchy like it was coated in something foreign. She shook her head, feeling disassociated from her surroundings. Her mind felt muddled. 

"Who are you?" she heard Kakashi's commanding voice boom through the hallway. His eyes landed on the scroll. 

She looked back up, her head spinning as her eyes landed back on her brother. Something was wrong. When her eyes locked again with his, Aoi's grey skin began to wrinkle unnaturally, liquefying to the consistency of melted butter. Her stomach twisted while she watched in horror as his skin melted away from his face, revealing his skeleton. 

She blinked her wide, petrified eyes. What was happening? Was she awake? Was this a dream? Her body felt heavy and the air thick. Panic seized her. Upon the second blink, the skeleton replaced itself with a new man, someone she had never seen before but seemingly twice the size of her younger brother. His eyes were darker, and his hair longer. He smiled at her again, taking a step closer as her feet shifted backward. 

"Who are you?" she demanded, watching his fingers swirling around the scroll perched mockingly in his palm. 

"I'm an associate of your brothers," his azure eyebrows twitched with his words. 

"My brother is dead," Ayame assured him, her voice jagged. "I know he is." 

"Do you?" the man questioned, his smile revealing a set of grey, decaying teeth. Ayame's stomach coiled in fear. She couldn't focus on him. Her vision blurred like waves of vibrations during an earthquake. 

A leg abruptly swept underneath the man, his feet coming out from under him without a moment's notice. He landed on his bottom, and his repugnant smirk was swiftly wiped from his face. Kakashi took his chin in his hand, lifting it and pointing a kunai at his throat. 

"Who are you?" Kakashi demanded, his grip tightening on the man's jaw, forcing his gaze to look upward. 

"Ah, your pupils," the man noticed cooly, "that mask of yours must act as a filter. Your friend over here doesn't seem to have that luxury." 

Kakashi looked up at Ayame, her hand against the stone wall as she tried to steady herself. There was something in the air, he thought. He had smelled it when they had first entered. Watching her struggle made him grip the man's cheeks tighter. She opened her eyes, her pupil appearing like tiny pinpricks in a pond of green, begging him to help her. 

"Shame," Kakashi heard before he felt the jolt of a foot smack into his face. He staggered backward, composing himself quickly to assess where the man had gone. Kakashi saw Ayame's chest expanding in the corner as she continued to try to get her bearings. 

"Earth Release: Wolf Lichen Rope," the man exclaimed, appearing behind Kakashi as he slapped his hands to the ground. A ripple of green erupted from the cracks in the marble floor. A pealing paint like mossy rope quickly sprung up to catch Kakashi's heel as he lept away. The green thread quickly wound itself around one of Kakashi's heels, slamming him back to the ground. 

Without hesitation, his hand reached into his pocket to retrieve a kunai and cleanly cut away the rope as it continued to pull him closer to the man. Releasing his heel, Kakashi vaulted his body from the ground, throwing the weapon at the man before landing on his feet in front of Ayame. He held a protective hand in front of her as she slid her body against the wall to the floor, the room still spinning. Her eyesight was pulsing in a tunnel of black. 

The kunai missed, hitting the wall behind the man with a loud clang. Kakashi blinked, wondering how he could have missed. Pushing his palm against his headband, he revealed his Sharingan to the man who seemed unphased by the dojutsu. 

"You know," the man cooed, "maybe that mask isn't helping you as much as I thought. Your target is off." 

Kakashi reached in his pocket, pulling out a kunai with a paper bomb as the man stood up. He threw it, aiming straight for the man's chest, but he quickly dodged it. He watched it skitter on the floor and explode. 

_ What is wrong with me?  _ Kakashi gritted his teeth. As he moved his head, he could feel the world shifting around him. His Sharingan stayed focused while his regular eye blurred. 

_ There must be some type of toxin in the air or a hallucinogen,  _ Kakashi inferred, wrapping his elbow around his face to shield him. Things would only get worse if he didn't release the air in the room. He looked up, calculating where they must be located in relation to the debris above ground. 

"My name is Daichi," the man said, walking forward. "And I have orders that neither of you are to make it out of here alive. And especially not with what you came for. You can count on that."

"You can count on this," Kakashi lunged forward, his hand sparking with electricity and chakra. He pushed his fist through the air, aiming for the man's chest. Before he could reach him, the man slapped his hands together to summon a mushroom that burst from the ground, cracking the marble. Kakashi's heels skidded as he tried to stop. The large fungi tilted its head back, shooting nails from its under cavity. Kakashi cursed himself for wasting his chakra as he dodged the arrows, twisting his body as he somersaulted backward. 

His foot slipped on the marble floor, and the sharp point of the nail cut through the skin of his shoulder effortlessly. His hand slapped over his wound, gritting his teeth as he kept a blurred eye on Daichi. This was not like him. He calculated every move he made, but his brain was fogged. It was as though the solutions were there, but he couldn't get through to them. He shook his head. 

Who was this man? What did he want with this scroll? 

"You're sweating," Daichi said cooly.

Kakashi pushed his hands to the ground forcefully, producing a boulder that burst from the marble to hit the ceiling above. He gritted his teeth, forcing the boulder through the top to form a large cavity above them. Debris from the wreckage overhead fell through, scattering itself around them like snow. 

The stale air of the village above sauntered into the basement like fresh, clean air. Kakashi looked up, feeling slight ease to know they weren't breathing in whatever toxic chemicals it was this man had produced. The afternoon sun above was hot on his face. For a moment, he just listened to the crows cawing in the distance. Quickly, he looked back down, hearing the man projecting himself over the hole Kakashi had created with the boulder. 

Kakashi promptly retrieved a kunai, shielding himself with his weapon and pushing away the dizziness. Daichi produced a kunai himself as his feet skidded in front of Kakashi on the fractured marble floor. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the space around them. 

Kakashi half-turned and stepped back, swinging his arm to connect with his opponent's weapon. Faster the two sparred, one-hundred and forty pounds colliding head-on with a man closer to three hundred. Kakashi kept twisting, feeling his stamina begin to weaken as he boldly attempted to keep up with a man twice his size while also trying to push away the symptoms of this toxicity. He threw one long left hook, turning his leg over the man's shoulders to hit his head, Daichi dodging quickly. 

"Take a puff," Daichi said as he stood back up from the dodge, a perfect mushroom in the palm of his hand. With one blow, a small bubble rapidly traveled from the blue fungi to Kakashi's face, bursting at the tip of his nose. Taken aback and still dizzy from the previous toxin, he staggered backward and fell onto the floor. 

Immediately, Kakashi knew something was wrong. He had inhaled poison before, but this felt different. His chest constricted tightly, and his throat itched painfully. A cough rose through his trachea, but he couldn't inhale enough air to expel it. His skin began to itch, little red hives raising all over his exposed forearms. 

"Enjoy," Daichi smiled, looking down at the copy-ninja as he held his chest. "I've heard about you Leaf shinobi. It's a shame you can't stand up against a few noxious fumes. But wait, your friend back there is still barely functioning with even just a little bit. Let's check on her, shall we?" 

Daichi walked past Kakashi as he struggled to breathe, stepping on his hand carelessly. Beyond the silver-haired shinobi, Ayame lay with her head against the wall. Her fuzzy consciousness was slowly piecing itself back together from the new air above as she looked over to see this behemoth of a man walking towards her. 

He knelt next to her, his heavy stale breath in her ear. She looked over at him as he reached into his pocket for the scroll they had come for. He leaned in closer, touching her hair with his rough hands. She reached up, slapping his hand away.

"Don't touch me," she snarled, her slit eyes glaring over at him. His hot breath touched her nose, wrinkling it from the stench of his rotting teeth. 

"If you want this, you'll have to earn it," he nudged her ear with his nose. She could feel herself recoil at the thought of what he was implying, and she quickly moved away.

"You're disgusting," she muttered to him, looking deep in his yellowing eyes. "Why do you have that scroll?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Daichi grasped her chin, forcing her face closer to his. "But I know all about you, Ayame Hana. I know what you've done and how  _ useless _ you are. You always listened to your family, never honing that kekkei genkai of yours that so many others pined for. You're weak. You always have been." 

"You don't know me," Ayame gritted her teeth, heat flaring in her chest. 

"Oh, but I do," he smiled, letting go of her face. He tapped the side of her cheek mockingly, standing up and turning away. Ayame quickly stood up, enraged by his words as her mind tried to adjust.

At that moment, she noticed everything that had happened while she was unconscious—the hole in the ceiling, the damage to the underground cache. Her eyes finally landed on Kakashi as he laid on the fractured marble floor, unconscious. She looked back at Daichi as he walked away, the afternoon sun coming in from the hole in the ceiling above. 

She ran towards Kakashi, her knees skidding across the floor when she reached him. His skin was pale as her hands hovered over his face, unsure of where to begin. She touched his shoulder where his shirt was ripped open, blood smearing on her fingertips. She reached up, tapping his face and calling his name. Panic rose. 

"He'll be dead soon," Daichi called back to her as he continued to walk. "Amatoxins, you know." 

His nonchalant demeanor set a fire of rage within her as she pushed Kakashi's hair from his sweaty face. Her eyes widened as she looked back down at him. 

_ No.  _

Something snapped inside of her that she hadn't felt in a long time. A wave of anger came from deep within, rolling over her body like an ocean current. This man, who came into her old village, seemingly ransacking every house he could find and destroying everything, stealing everything - injuring Kakashi. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep, battered breath. Concentrating. 

_ Stay focused,  _ she heard Kakashi's voice in her mind from earlier. She focused on the feeling she had when she had meditated that morning—feeling the chakra flowing through her, pushing its way through her damaged parts, and producing more to sustain her. 

Carefully, she wove her fingers to form signs she had barely ever used before and slammed her hand to the floor. The already split marble floor shattered in hundreds of molecular paths as a thick vine erupted from the floor. Anger seized every ounce of her body as Kakashi lay beside her, dying. She thought of Daichi's words as the vines traveled quickly towards him. 

_ How useless you are.  _

Daichi's small eyes turned around at the commotion behind him. The lush vine swirled in the air, wrapping itself around his neck tightly. Within seconds, the vine constricted his thick neck, blocking his airway. She watched him turn blue as he clawed at the vine around his neck, gasping for air. The tighter the vine became around his neck, the more relief she felt. She clenched her teeth, feeling her vision begin to tunnel from the exertion. 

Above, a crow cawed in the distance. She watched the man fall to his knees, his eyes begging her to stop. She wouldn't. Her body lurched forward as she tried to remain conscious. In the last few seconds where she remained awake, she watched this repugnant man die of asphyxiation before her. 

She had never killed anyone before. But today was a new day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, the fluff is coming. I promise there is romance lol

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really appreciate your support and it keeps me motivated. Sorry for the short opening! I hope you like the story of Ayama and Kakashi. 


End file.
